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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2017 SPECIAL SECTION

HOLIDAY WORSHIP

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2017

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

CALL OF THE CHURCH

By Mike Whye WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Every Saturday, 83-year-old Bob Call drives that many miles from his home in Lincoln to a country church southwest of Oakland, Nebraska, to feed his flock.

Helping congregations in a pinch is a labor of love he can’t seem to shake after nearly 60 years in the ministry and four failed attempts at retirement since 2004.

At present, he’s serving as Salem Evangelical Covenant Church’s interim minister while the congregation searches for a full-time pastor to replace Steve Hoden, who retired last August after 14 years at the pulpit.

“I’ll probably be with Salem until June,” or however long the congregation needs him, Call noted. He’s in familiar territory, having served another Oakland church years ago. That stint acquainted him with many of Salem’s present-day members, including current church board president Jim Groth. When health issues influenced Hoden’s decision to step down, Groth called Call.

For the interim paster, the hour-and-a-half commutes between Lincoln and Oakland are a continuation of the trips he has made throughout his life.

After high school, the New Hampshire native lived with his older sister and her husband in Canton, Ohio, and took a summer job at a steel mill.

He had little religious guidance from his parents — other than Sunday school. But wanting to further his education, he listened when a friend suggested West Virginia Wesleyan College, which was affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Unable to afford transportation, Call hitchhiked to Buckhannon, West Virginia, home of the college. His adventure almost ended when a ride dropped him off in a small crossroads town 70 miles short of Buckhan-

MIKE WHYE

Preaching has been Bob Call’s work for 60 years. After four failed attempts at retirement, the 83-year-old is certain he’s destined to serve for as long as his body and mind hold out.

non. It was there that he encountered what he calls a divine intervention. A bread truck driver spotted him standing alone and asked where he was going.

The driver offered to take Call to Buckhannon — if he’d help with deliveries. Call agreed. Once in Buckhannon, they ducked into a bar. The driver asked if Call would like to play two-out-of-three games of pool to see who would pay for supper.

Call figured he’d end up with the tab. “Sure enough, the first game, the guy kills me,” remembered Call, who then won the second game. In the third game, supper came down to the 8-ball. “It was my turn and, believe it or not, the shot was going to be behind my back, and I had to bank it here, bank it there and put it in the pocket over there,” Call said. “I said to the Lord, ‘It’s not right to ask you to help me win, so I’ll pray that you keep my hand steady.’”

Call’s shot banked off one rail, rebounded off another and slowly rolled toward the pocket. “It almost didn’t drop in … but I got my supper.”

While in college, Call continued to work in steel mills during the summers to pay for tuition. In one mill, some employees took a dislike to him because he was from a religious college and feared he would preach to them. He didn’t. Still, they were wary. A huge man who always gave him a bad time mockingly called him “Preacher Boy.” One day, the superintendent learned that the big man’s mother had just died. He asked if Call would carry the news to him — 60 feet above the factory floor. Call climbed a ladder to a 3-foot-wide boardwalk with no hand rails. “Lord, I don’t ask for much but get me over to that guy,” he prayed.

When Call’s arch-foe saw him approaching, he began swearing. “‘What the blankety-blank are you doing here, Preacher Boy?’ he asked Call. “I told him that his mother had died, and that the super said he See Pastor: Page 3

ABOUT THIS SECTION Project editor and designer Chris Christen, 402-444-1094, chris.christen@owh.com Deputy editor Howard K. Marcus Copy editors Marjie Ducey, Kiley Cruse Contributors Mike Watkins, Mike Whye, Todd Von Kampen, Kevin Warneke, Kurt A. Keeler Advertising sales manager Dan Matuella, dan.matuella.com On the cover Stained glass window detail, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Lincoln. Photo courtesy of Emil Frei Studio

Come, Let Us Saint MICHAEL Adore Him! Lutheran Church (ELCA) 13232 Blondo Street

402-493-2871

HOLIDAY WORSHIP TIMES:

Dinner 5:15-6:15 (free-will offering)

Sunday, Dec. 17

Worship with Holy Communion 8:00 am Christmas Cantata 9:30 & 11:00 am featuring Rejoice! Singers & Handbell Choirs

Saturday, December 23, 5:00 pm Service of Lessons and Carols - No Communion

Longest Night Christmas Service December 17 - 5:00 PM 4th Sunday of Advent December 24 - 10:00 AM only 2064369-01

Advent Worship 6:30 pm December 13 and 20

Christmas Eve 3:00, 4:15, 6:00 & 7:30 PM Christmas Day 10:00 AM

Holy Communion served at all services

NORMAL WORSHIP TIMES Saturday: 5:30 PM, Sunday: 8:15 AM & 10:45 AM www.saintmichaellutheran.org www.facebook.com/saintmichaellutheran

Christmas Eve

Worship with Holy Communion 9:30 am, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00 & 11:00 pm Children’s Message at 9:30, 3:00 & 5:00 pm Additional parking available Christmas Eve at Millard North Middle School

138th & West Center Road 402-334-1999 | www.rejoiceomaha.org

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2017

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Continued from Page 2 could go home if he wanted.”

Call turned to walk away, his job done. The man’s countenance softened. “You ever been this high before?” Call had not. “Do you want help getting down?” Call said no and turned to leave.

“I’ve been calling you ‘Preacher Boy,’” the man said, asking for his name. “Well, Bob, that stops now, no more calling you ‘Preacher Boy.’” Not long after, one of the men told Call that he and his cohorts were cleaning up their act. Some even were going to church, the man offered, all without Call preaching to them.

“I prayed after hearing that,” said Call. “And about a week before the end of summer, I decided if I could work with those guys, I could work with anybody.”

So began Call’s path toward being a minister. After graduating from college in 1956, he enrolled at Garrett Biblical Institute of the United Methodist Church in Evanston, Illinois.

The summer of 1957, he was invited to work with a Nebraska minister at two churches in Central City.

In 1958, he returned to serve churches in Macon, Upland and Spring Valley. “I decided to stay for a year to solve one thing. I didn’t know if I could preach every single Sunday for a year.”

Call completed his studies at the seminary in 1961.

He intended to become a youth minister in Pennsylvania, but church officials in Nebraska beckoned him west once more. This time as a circuit preacher, which kept him visiting Methodist congregations across the state for years.

In 1998, he became pastor of First United Methodist Church in Oakland and Memorial United Methodist Church in neighboring Lyons, Nebraska. In 2004, he retired from the ministry to live in Lincoln with his wife, LeeAnne, who had a children’s puppet ministry and a catering business, The Giggling Gourmet.

Call thought he had retired.

In 2006, he returned to the pulpit, this time at Lakeview United Methodist Church on the west side of Lincoln, and retired a second time in 2008.

Before the year was out, he was preaching in the Nebraska communities of Dakota City and Homer.

Retirement in 2011 was short-lived. He was asked to be Minister of Visitation at Lincoln’s First Evangelical Covenant Church. He was still there when he learned last summer that Hoden was stepping down.

Call’s first service at the 140-year-old church was Aug. 20. In mid-November, his position at the Lincoln church was phased out, freeing him to devote more

MIKE WHYE

Salem Evangelical Covenant Church outside of Oakland in northest Nebraska was founded 140 years ago by Swedish immigrants. “It’s a church of close to 100 people, and (Sunday) attendance is right up there — 75 to 80 percent,” says interim pastor Bob Call. time to Salem. He maintains, however, that he is not a candidate for the full-time pastor’s position.

Sixty years of preaching has taught him: “If I want people to come to church, I need to go where they are.” He takes in ball games and various school activities, pays visits to hospitals and nursing homes (as early as his first day on the job), and participates in community events. He even has been known to ride a combine during harvest.

“If someone says to me, ‘You won’t get so-and-so because they haven’t been to church in a long time,’ my reply is ‘Let me at ’em.’ ” Salem’s congregation has a long tradition of great ministry, Call said. “First, they equate a love for Jesus Christ with a love for their community and others.”

Second, three-quarters of the members of the

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St. Paul’s United ed Me Meth Methodist thod th odis od ist st Ch CChurch huurrcchh 2064448-01

Family Service 4:30 pm Candlelight Service 11:00 pm

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(402) 339-3308

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church are related — a saving grace, noted Call.

Third, the church’s programming and mission have been excellent over the years. When there is a need, the church responds. A medical clinic in the Congo, for example, receives $5,000 a year for prenatal care.

“Fourth, it’s a church of nearly 100 people and attendance is right up there; 75 to 80 percent have been there all these years.”

Is a fifth retirement possible? The interim preacher isn’t sure.

“This is my game, I enjoy it. I love people and working with them. The time may come when I think this is it, but it’s not yet,” he said, noting his health and mobility are good.

“As long as I got leg and lip, I’ll keep going.”

Celebrate Christmas Eve with us this year!

5312 Underwood Omaha, NE dpcomaha.org Sunday Worship 9am Rejoice!

11 am Traditional

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services 4 pm Family • 9 pm Traditional

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2017

Christ’s birth, celebr

By Mike Watkins

S

WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

tained glass windows often tell stories. In houses of worship, you’ll find depictions of the seven sacraments, the crucifiction and other events in the life of Jesus, parables of the Bible, and mysteries of the rosary.

Perhaps the most recognizable and beloved among Christians is the Nativity — the story of the birth of Christ told in depictions of Baby Jesus in a manger surrounded by Mary and Joseph, the three wise men, shepherds, angels and stable animals.

For Christians, it may be the greatest story ever told in the windows of churches throughout the world.

“These are stories that last for generations. They tell and will keep telling the story of Jesus’ birth, as well as many other biblical stories, for centu-

First United Methodist Church Columbus, Nebraska This long, vertical panel shows Mary, Jesus and Joseph with Jesus lying in the manager rather than sitting on Mary’s lap or in her arms. The light from heaven shines down on the Christ Child. Unlike traditional windows in Catholic churches, this one in a Methodist church is a very simple interpretation.

St. John’s Catholic Church, Creighton University, Omaha Very modern and very blue — Blue Jay blue, perhaps? — this window features more solemn, haunting faces rather than happy and light in the more traditional sense. The three kings are present along with a single sheep — although there is a mule’s head directly beneath the main scene.

ries,” said Mark Lambrecht, owner of Lambrecht Glass Studio Inc. in Omaha, who has created and restored stained glass windows throughout the world.

While storytelling with stained glass dates to early Egypt, the art didn’t become visibly and spiritually significant in Christian churches until the fourth and fifth centuries.

Early Romanesque-style churches had heavy, barrel-vaulted ceilings supported by fortress-like walls, leaving little room or need for windows.

As architecture evolved, Gothic structures became the norm, and because of their pointed arches, they required less support from beneath.

This left room and opportunity for larger, more expressive windows that would not only let in more light but also tell stories.

Those early windows were filled with ornate patterns of thin alabaster set in wooden frames —

United Methodist Church, Walnut, Iowa Much smaller and noticeably less intricate than the Catholic interpretations, this Nativity is highly traditional in look and message and tells a very simple version of the birth of Jesus. Blue panels in deep but varied hues and levels of dark and light surround and illuminate the vignette.

giving a stained-glass effec In the making of stained varying in color and purpos patterns or pictures connec and supported by a rigid fr then fit securely and snugly to withstand and resist win especially in the larger win own weight.

Over time, processes and improved, and churches be by adding metallic salts in process – copper oxides pro green, cobalt makes deep b wine red and violet glass.

In the early years – when ed as the center of learning unable to read – stained gla method to teach the stories

St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, Omaha Traditional Gothic three-panel window.

In the center are the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. The outside panels depict the three kings, shepherds and others heralding the birth of the Christ Child.

A crown sits at the feet of mother and child, and lots of light — and hope — filter through the multi-colored glass.

St. Cecilia’s Cathedr A different take on th features the major ch a much more modern more angular and ha Virgin Mary, Joseph a largely expressionles also angular rather th particular scene inclu animals but no other shepherd.

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

rated in stained glass

ct. d glass stories, glass se is arranged to form cted by strips of lead rame. The windows are y into the window spaces nd and rain, and also, ndows, to support their

d materials changed and egan using glass colored the manufacturing oduce green or bluish blue and gold produces

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“The message varied in elaboration and detail, but the basic story was the same no matter the church or location,” said Brother William Woeger, a liturgical design consultant who has influenced the construction or renovation of dozens of churches in the Archdiocese of Omaha and across the country. “Remembering most people couldn’t read in the Middle Ages, church windows became an effective, beautiful way to tell the stories of Jesus.”

A traditional narrative window – like the Nativity – has panels and illustrations. Scriptural texts or mottoes are sometimes included and perhaps the name of the patron or the person to whose memory the window is dedicated.

Details of faces, hair and hands can be painted onto the inner surface of the glass using a special glass paint. The art of painting details became increasingly elaborate and reached its height in the early 20th century.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, O’Neill, Nebraska Also very traditional in look, color, light and message, this Nativity is similar in look and message to the window in St. Patrick’s in Omaha. Angels hover over mother and child, but in this interpretation, Joseph and other onlookers are beside and slightly above the central figures. Joseph, Mary and Jesus are anointed by traditional halos, and everyone, including Mary, look lovingly upon the Christ Child.

“In the early days, the stained glass was made by craftsmen throughout Europe, but by the end of the 19th century, Germany – with artisans like Franz Mayer & Co. and LambertsGlas – became the go-to location for finely-crafted glass on a grand scale,” Lambrecht said.

“In the United States, it was Connick Studio in Boston or Emil Frei & Associates in St. Louis that provided stained glass for decades, including churches throughout Omaha, Nebraska and the Midwest. Connick is no longer in business, but Frei is still run by his heirs.”

Stained glass offers interpretations of messages of the Bible. “Some are elaborate and very colorful while others are simple yet still impactful,” Woeger said. “The need may be different today, but the messages are unchanged and just as important as they’ve always been, especially the Nativity story.”

St. Francis of Assisi Church, Lincoln Expressively intricate and detailed in message and look, this multi-paneled interpretation centers the family – Joseph, Mary and Jesus – from everyone else in attendance. The three kings bear the traditional gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, on the left, and shepherds kneel and pray at the right of the family.

The family is traditionally haloed, but so are the kings. Heavy lead connectors divide the window panels into three sections and silhouette the intricate, detailed scenes.

St. Bernadette Catholic Church Columbus, Nebraska This vibrant scene is highly intricate and detailed, with light shining down from the heavens upon the family, each one highlighted by a halo.The combination of thick and thin lead lines divide the scene into four separate but connected panels telling the Nativity story.

Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Boys Town In this detail of a glorious arched window in the 1941 chapel, bands of blue rain down from Heaven upon Mary and Joseph and the Newborn King. Simple yet vibrant, this depiction of the Nativity centers on the Holy Family and the miracle of the birth.

I M A G E S C O U R T E S Y O F E M I L F R E I & A S S O C I AT E S AND LAMBRECHT GLASS STUDIO INC.

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Eat. Study. Pray. And find your way Newman Center parishioners have support they need to keep their eyes ‘fixed on Jesus’ amid pressures of college

By Kevin WarneKe WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Madeline Jarosik regularly chooses to begin her weekend at the St. John Paul II Newman Center near the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Scott Campus.

Jarosik attends holy hour for prayer, followed by Mass.

“Here, I found my college faith,” said the UNO freshman journalism major. “Bringing my adolescent faith — what I had in high school — and growing it. Discovering what to do for the rest of my life, and how Jesus is going to play a part in it.”

It’s Friday early evening, and the Rev. Joe Taphorn is telling his Newman Center parishioners — mostly college-age adults attending UNO — how the Old Testament story of Lot’s wife has meaning today. Lot’s wife, though warned not to do so, couldn’t help but look back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. She turned into a pillar of salt.

She likely couldn’t part with earthly attractions, Taphorn explained to the worshippers, saying that students also have earthly attractions that may grow stronger as the end of the semester approaches, competing with tests that must be taken and papers that are coming due.

“Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus,” he told the students.

The center serves as a spiritual home to many, and the physical home to some. It includes living space for 164 students who live in one-, two- and four-person suites. All are welcome at the center — its residents, students who live elsewhere, and those who attend other Omaha universities and colleges, he said.

KURT A. KEELER

The Rev. Andrew Roza, associate pastor, gives communion to students attending Monday night Mass.

“So as any parish, we’re a community of faith and a community of believers. We are a spiritual home, but the physical home does enhance that mission,” Taphorn said.

On school days, Newman Center residents come and go. Between classes, they spend time in the center’s common areas studying, socializing and serving. Nonresidents are welcome to do the same.

“We invite people to pop in and pray when they desire,” he said.

Taphorn and other center staffers routinely interact with residents and visitors. “Part of my job is hanging out. It’s not a hard thing to do,” he smiled.

It affords an opportunity to engage students in a much deeper, more spiritual way.

See Newman Center: Page 7

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When word spread that Father Taphorn had a new puppy, campus missionary Dana Grenfell and fiance John Ritzdorf joined the rush to the rectory to meet Lolek, named for Pope John Paul II.

Continued from Page 6 “Living here allows for a deeper investment in the individual,” he said.

“I don’t see them once or twice a week at Mass. I may see them every day.”

Josh Richards, a UNO sophomore social work major from Papillion who serves as a resident assistant, enjoys spending time with the priests. “Living here, it’s easy to see the joy the priests have,” he said.

Hayden Meyer, a UNO junior aviation major from Pawnee City, Nebraska, sees the priests as “regular guys.

Guys who like to watch Monday Night Football with you.”

Taphorn’s interaction with students includes providing counseling and marriage preparation. The center already has hosted three weddings, and he’s currently providing religious instruction to five students.

Newman Centers, which can be

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SAMANTHA WORTHING

The St. John Paul II Newman Center serves as a spiritual home to all, and a physical home to as many as 164 UNO students (115 occupy dorm rooms this semester). The Holy Family Room is a popular study area in the afternoons and a lively gathering spot in the evenings. Fireplace seating and a game corner make the room feel more like home.

found at non-Catholic universities throughout the world, are named in honor of Cardinal John Henry Newman. They provide pastoral services and ministries to the Catholic communities at the universities. But only a handful of the centers include residence halls, Taphorn said.

The Omaha center’s location near UNO was critical to fulfilling its ministry. The Archdiocese of Omaha began work to start a Newman Center near UNO in 2009 and launched a site search in 2011. The center opened last year.

It quickly began drawing a crowd.

Mass each day draws up to 80 worshippers; the Sunday morning and evening Masses draw about 240 collectively.

“This is a place to retreat from a busy world. A place to be more human,” Taphorn said. “To be more human is a good thing. To be fully human, we need to live and pray in a healthy way.”

A natural gathering spot

By Kevin WarneKe WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

The St. John Paul II Newman Center’s nod to 16th-century monasteries was by design.

BVH Architecture’s task was to create a place with open spaces, tall windows and plenty of light, said the Rev. Joe Taphorn, pastor and director. The firm responded with a design resembling monasteries of an earlier time. Courtyard included.

“Give kudos to our architects,” Taphorn said of the natural gathering spot for students.

“The spaces work well together.

There are always people hanging out.

People are doing puzzles. They’re sit-

ting by the fire. They’re studying. People are charging their phones. They’re on their iPads.”

Mark Bacon, design director for BVH Architecture, said that while features at other student residences can make it difficult to draw students from their rooms, that’s not the case at the center. “The amenities effectively draw students out of their suites to participate in communal activities,” he said.

Taphorn says God didn’t intend for his people to live a solitary life. “We’re not meant to be alone. The whole point of the Christian life is to be in communion with God and to be in communion with one another. To create a physical structure that supports the deeper spiritual and human needs.”

Christmas Worship

Immanuel Lutheran Church

morningstarchristmas.com COME CELEBRATE THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24 Fourth Sunday of Advent Service 9:30 a.m. - With lessons & carols Christmas Eve Services 3:00 p.m. - Candelight service 5:00 p.m. - Candelight service

331 South 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 402-393-5553 morningstaromaha.org Located one block west of Methodist Hospital & three blocks south of West Dodge Road. Handicapped Accessible

“In the heart of Benson”

Christmas Season Advent Events at Immanuel

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10 Gloria Deo Handbell Choir and Joyful Noise Handbell Choir will perform during both services* SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 Senior Choir Cantata will be performed at both services Children’s Sunday School Christmas program, 3:00 p.m., Refreshments served after program in Fellowship Hall.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24 One morning worship service at 9:30 a.m.

Christmas Eve Candlelight worship services at 5:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.

* Sunday Worship services at 8:15 a.m. & 10:40 a.m., Fellowship hour after 8:15 a.m. service, Sunday School 9:30 a.m.

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Immanuel Lutheran Church, ELCA | 2725 No. 60 Ave. • Omaha, NE 68104 402-553-5061 • www.Immanuel-lutheran.com 2065728-01

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2017

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Midlanders make the last weeks of the year their special time to do good deeds for others

By Todd Von Kampen // WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT Their historical influences are many. For Christians, gifts and generosity are stressed not only on the Dec. 25 celebration of Jesus’ birth but also during the “12 days of Christmas” that follow, and the four-week penitential season of Advent that precedes it. Though Thanksgiving was founded as a secular American holiday, its celebration on the fourth Thursday of November typically coincides with the last days of the traditional Christian church year — another time when Bible

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church ELCA

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Christmas Eve Services with Communion

4 pm • 6:30 pm • 11 pm 13271 Millard Avenue Omaha, NE 68137

www.splcomaha.org 402-895-3366

readings emphasize service to others. Gift-giving and the nurturing of human community are also reinforced by spiritual traditions outside the Christian sphere, such as the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah and the African-American observance of Kwanzaa. Here, see how Nebraskans are epitomizing the spirit of the season.

Steven Olson, Mary Our Queen Council No. 11700, Knights of Columbus, Omaha “Each year, our council purchases 100 to 150 bicycles needing assembly.

During our eagerly anticipated annual Christmas party, member families assemble all the bicycles in about 1½ hours. The bikes are distributed later to those in need at the Winnebago Indian Reservation and other charities. Later on assembly day, the group shares a Christmas meal and offers games for the kids. It’s an opportunity for Knights and their families to participate in a joint activity while also giving to those in need.”

Gigi Berol, First United Methodist Church, Ogallala “Every year, our church hosts the Methodist Church Christmas Angel Store to help families with Christmas gifts and to encourage family time.

The items, which we wrap for them, are donated or purchased with donated funds. I’ve chaired this mission for 15 years, and it’s close to my heart.

We’ve grown over the years, and with the generous support of our community, we are able to help many, many families celebrate the birth of Christ without worrying that they have no presents for their children.”

Patrick Brennan, president, Omaha Woodworkers Guild “Our members, as part of our goal of community service, have been building wooden toys at Christmastime for about 20 years. They’re intended for younger boys and girls and have included cars, trucks, planes, cameras, doll cradles and puzzles and, one year, a sled. Members bring their toys to our December meeting at Woodcraft of Omaha. One of us then delivers the toys to Siena-Francis House, where we’ve been taking them for about 10 years. Before that, the toys were given to Santa Claus at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center for distribution to patients. We know that this is one small deed and not every child will receive a gift. But those who do will have a toy that will last for years.”

Phillip LaRoe, First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul “Many people in town, including widows, widowers and others, are alone on Thanksgiving or cannot afford to celebrate with a large meal. So in 2003, we began our annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Diners often meet with friends they have not seen since the last dinner. The meal is free; indeed, though we enjoy support from the entire community with volunteers and donations, the church refuses to

accept donations on Thanksgiving Day. The dinner has become a huge success in St. Paul, growing from 250 meals in 2003 to more than 450 in 2016 in a town with a population of about 2,000. In addition to serving meals in our fellowship hall, we deliver meals to those who are homebound, those receiving Meals on Wheels and those who are working the holiday and miss out on the family meal.”

Carolyn Smith, First United Methodist Church, Cozad “We’re continuing our ‘Clothem’ project for the community for the 14th year. Each year, a gift of new jeans, a shirt, a package of socks and a package of undies is given to 250 to 300 needy children in Cozad. Cash donations by faithful people allow us to purchase jeans and shirts. I coordinate a special project called ‘Undie Sundays’ at local churches in November. Members bring new packages of undies and socks for the children. The feeling we have in our hearts when the family picks up their special bags is so rewarding. The smiles on the faces of the children are priceless. Distribution is the weekend prior to Christmas. Yes, God is so good!”

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He was pierced for our transgressions . . . He was led like a lamb to the slaughter . . . Isaiah 53

Adat HaTikvat Tzion

The Hope of Zion Congregation

Where Jews & Gentiles have broken down the middle wall of partition & worship together.

Every Saturday, 10 a.m.

Join us at the Southwest Church of the Nazarene 14808 Q Street

592-2404 www.Adat.Org

To the Jew first and also to the Gentile . . . Romans 1:16

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